Page 1269 - Week 05 - Thursday, 4 June 2020
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The community program offers a range of services, including the assertive community outreach service, which works with people with complex needs to support them in the community, which is where they are most comfortable. The home assessment and acute response team, the HAART, offers intensive support for people in their homes and can visit people up to twice per day, either to avoid an acute admission or to support early discharge following an admission. The ACT government also provided $720,000 in funding to extend the HAART in the recent COVID-19 mental health support package, to increase diversionary pathways from hospitals.
The recent support package also provides funding to establish two safe haven cafes in the ACT. These cafes are a new initiative for the territory, aimed to provide a safe alternative to the emergency department. They will be modelled on the safe haven cafe at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne and the Dial House model from the UK. It will provide another treatment option when awaiting assessment at the emergency department or if a person just needs some additional mental health support. A fantastic part of this initiative is that they are peer led, which adds an additional layer to treatment and support options.
In 2018 an independent external review of mental health inpatient services within the ACT was undertaken. This was an extremely comprehensive review undertaken by external consultants. All recommendations of this review were endorsed and implemented except for one, relating to closed-circuit television, on which community consultation is being undertaken because there are really diverse views in the community about whether CCTV is appropriate in the adult mental health unit.
Earlier this year the office of mental health and wellbeing launched its review of children and young people in the ACT. This review demonstrated true collaboration with the community sector and was a partnership with Mental Illness Education ACT, MIEACT. This included significant consultation with the community. We heard the voices of over 800 Canberrans. The office is actively working across government and the community sector to implement the three recommendations from the review.
The government’s commitment to youth mental health services is also evidenced through the expansion of the size and range of services at the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children, including the planning of a dedicated inpatient adolescent mental health unit and day service. I note Mrs Dunne’s comments about the timing of that. It has taken longer than I would have liked, but there was a significant pause in the project while consultation was undertaken on the model of care. I am personally of the view that I would rather there be a little more time going into the planning process, and getting agreement amongst both our stakeholders and our clinicians on an appropriate model of care, than hurrying to build something that we end up regretting later because we think we did not get the model right.
Clinical and community services do currently have culturally sensitive capability to provide mental health support to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. I want to reflect on this area because it is raised in the motion. However, the office for mental health and wellbeing has identified that the system would be enhanced by a culturally appropriate program. The office has been undertaking consultation on
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